Friday, October 9, 2015

Venezuela is again
suffering from a bout of daily electricity blackouts in several regions, including
Caracas. As it has
done many times before, the government is claiming “the right” is
sabotaging the electricity grid and power stations.

President Maduro
yesterday accused “elements of the right” of provoking an explosion at a power station
in the state of Táchira. “I warned about this a week ago, the battered right [derecho maltrecha] is not in an
electoral campaign, it is waging a terrorist campaign, it has an invisible
campaign to harm the people,” said
Maduro.

Electricity Minister
Luis Motta Domínguez seconded Maduro and said “sectors of the right” are to
blame for the explosion at the power station: “they are increasing the attack together
with a media campaign to discredit the workers of CORPOELEC [public electricity
company].” The Minister believes that it is not a coincidence that “blackouts
have increased only two months before the [December legislative] elections.”